Five of the most shocking moments from The Traitors series four

Five of the most shocking moments from The Traitors series four
Source: Daily Mail Online

The latest series of The Traitors has left viewers on the edge of their sofas with plenty of shocking moments, twists and revelations.

As the BBC One show draws to a close, here are some of the most dramatic events from the fourth series.

Secret Traitor

The twist introduced to the game for the first time of having a secret traitor in a red cloak lived up to their name by being totally anonymous - at least for the first few episodes.

Unlike the other traitors, who are known to viewers but not their fellow contestants, the identity of the fourth traitor was kept a secret from everyone.

Instead, the secret traitor was informed of the identity of their three co-conspirators and tasked with providing them with a shortlist of players from which they could murder, thus eliminating many of their options.

The fiendish plot twist was resolved in the fourth episode when Fiona was unmasked in the turret to fellow traitors Stephen and Rachel, and their lack of trust in her meant it wasn't long before they engineered her banishment from the game.

Secret Relationships

The fourth series of The Traitors included not one but two pairs of contestants who were secretly linked.

The first relationship revealed was that of mother and daughter Judy and Roxy.

Viewers learnt the truth when Judy became the first player to be banished from the castle, with Roxy revealing their relationship in a confessional.

When Roxy was murdered in the final week, she admitted Judy’s early exit was a “blessing in disguise” because she was so worried about calling her “Mum” in front of everyone.

Their fellow contestants were left gobsmacked when presenter Claudia Winkleman revealed their relationship at the breakfast after Roxy was banished.

There was just as much shock when Ellie admitted fellow faithful Ross was her boyfriend during her parting speech moments after she was voted out.

Ross became the third contestant to be banished from the castle, but it emerged some viewers already had their suspicions about the couple thanks to online theories from fans who had found a photograph of the pair together on social media.

It wasn't the first time the spotlight was shone on Ross. When meeting his fellow players he was warmly embraced by old friend Netty, with neither realising the other had been cast in the show. The prior association proved tricky for Netty to explain too, and she became the first faithful to be murdered.

Traitor on Traitor Fallout

The secret traitor twist led to further drama, with Fiona going to war with Rachel once they were united in the turret.

The pair worked together for a short while as traitors, but their alliance came to a dramatic end.

Fiona accused Rachel of being a liar for telling the group that banished faithful Amanda had confided in her about being a former police detective.

Fiona insisted Amanda would have shared the secret with her instead, because many of the Welsh woman's family members are officers.

The conflict threw suspicion on Fiona, and she was voted off following a tense roundtable discussion.

During her exit interview, Fiona admitted she blamed herself for her dramatic departure.

Secret Identities

As one would expect from a game of subterfuge, many of the contestants held certain information about themselves back as they tried to gain trust and stay in the competition.

When Harriet revealed she was the successful published author of psychological thrillers as well as a former criminal barrister in a ploy to shake up the traitors, it instead caused suspicion among her fellow faithfuls and she was soon banished.

The author later said she had attempted to use "the invisibility cloak of the middle-aged woman" as her game plan, but admitted the truth about her impressive career led to her downfall.

Meanwhile, traitor Rachel told her fellow contestants in the same episode that she had undergone FBI training prior to entering the castle which helped her to read the "micro-expressions" of everyone else.

Two of the contestants also withheld their backgrounds as former police officers - Amanda and Maz.

Predicting her exit, Amanda divulged to Rachel she had been a senior detective in the Metropolitan Police, so was "very adept at covert policing".

Amanda's banishment came after Winkleman brought out the "chest of chance" when the round table was at a deadlock with equal votes for the former officer and sweet shop assistant Reece.

Whoever selected the chest with a shield in it would get to stay, but no amount of policing experience could help Amanda in the guessing game and after picking the wrong box, she was out of the competition.

Maz, who worked for the police before becoming a civil servant, was the third faithful to be murdered during a mission where he was locked in a cage and then killed by the traitorous trio in person.

Team Betrayal

Another dramatic moment came when faithful James impulsively took a shield during one of the show's missions.

Behind the backs of the rest of his team, he slipped a protective talisman from under a statue. The other players only realised the deception when the number of shields taken added up to more than had been admitted to, in a move that caused the potential prize pot for that game to plummet from £10,000 to £3,000.

Suspicion quickly fell on gardener James and while he initially denied he was at fault, he later confessed to his team he had wanted to be shielded from murder. It was a move that put him firmly in the spotlight as a potential traitor, with Roxy saying: “I feel I can’t not look at you now because that was deceptive behaviour”.